Torsten Hägerstrand
Encyclopedia
Torsten Hägerstrand was a Swedish
geographer
. He is known for his work on migration
, cultural diffusion
and time geography
.
A native and resident of Sweden, Hägerstrand was a Professor
(later Professor Emeritus) of Geography
at Lund University
, where he received his doctorate in 1953. His doctoral research was on cultural diffusion
.
, Denmark. This paper, published in 1970 (see references), developed two concepts:
Hägerstrand's work was quantitative
, which is important as the discipline of geography was, when he published his first paper in 1942, a highly descriptive subject. He developed models and statistical techniques, such as the time-space prism. His work informed the likes of Allan Pred
and Nigel Thrift
, who took it to the English speaking world.
Hägerstrand's work was an early factor in both the qualitative turn and the introduction of humanistic thought into geography. As the latter of these critiqued the former highly, to eventually form critical geography
. Hägerstrand's later work revised his early time-geographies to include notions of embodiment and emotion. Still, his methods were critiqued by feminist geographers
such as Gillian Rose
, who claimed that his models showed a masculine
and falsely-ordered view of the world.
Even so, development of Hägerstrand's work has continued to form part of the basis for non-representational theory
, and a reappraisal of time geography from the likes of Alan Latham means that he remains an influential thinker today.
Sweden, and particularly Lund
, has become a major center of innovative work in cultural geography
. This is partially helped by Hägerstrand's work, which was almost entirely concentrated on the town and its surrounding region.
, the highest award in the geography
research field.
He received honorary doctorates from University of Bergen
, Norwegian school of economics and business administration, University of Trondheim, University of Bristol
, University of Edinburgh
, University of Glasgow
and Ohio State University
. The commendation accompanying the honorary degree at Ohio State University
noted that" his work on innovation diffusion, carried out in the 1950s and 1960s continues to be cited as a standard against which current research is measured' and that "this distinguished individual...inspired a generation of scholars around the world."
He was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
, the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences
, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
, the Finnish Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
, a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy
, and a member of Société de Géographie
in France. He was also one of the founding members of Academia Europaea
.
In 1968 Professor Hägerstrand received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Association of American Geographers
. In 1979 he received the Victoria Medal
from the Royal Geographical Society
.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
geographer
Geographer
A geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...
. He is known for his work on migration
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
, cultural diffusion
Cultural diffusion
In cultural anthropology and cultural geography, cultural diffusion, as first conceptualized by Alfred L. Kroeber in his influential 1940 paper Stimulus Diffusion, or trans-cultural diffusion in later reformulations, is the spread of cultural items—such as ideas, styles, religions, technologies,...
and time geography
Time geography
Time geography or time-space geography traces its roots back to the Swedish geographer Torsten Hägerstrand who stressed the temporal factor in spatial human activities. The time-space path, devised by Hägerstrand, shows the movement of an individual in the spatial-temporal environment with the...
.
A native and resident of Sweden, Hägerstrand was a Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
(later Professor Emeritus) of Geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
at Lund University
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
, where he received his doctorate in 1953. His doctoral research was on cultural diffusion
Cultural diffusion
In cultural anthropology and cultural geography, cultural diffusion, as first conceptualized by Alfred L. Kroeber in his influential 1940 paper Stimulus Diffusion, or trans-cultural diffusion in later reformulations, is the spread of cultural items—such as ideas, styles, religions, technologies,...
.
Academic career
In 1969, he presented a paper entitled What about People in Regional Science? to the European Congress of the Regional Science Association in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark. This paper, published in 1970 (see references), developed two concepts:
- The need to study the individual in order to understand social and group practices. Modern cultural geographersCultural geographyCultural geography is a sub-field within human geography. Cultural geography is the study of cultural products and norms and their variations across and relations to spaces and places...
commonly now study everyday practices on an individualistic basis, in order to understand larger scale patterns. The study of just groups creates a homogenization of reality and hides the truth. - A link between spaceSpaceSpace is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
and time that had previously been poorly developed. Historically, social scientists had treated time as a relevant but external factor to spatial features. Hägerstrand's early work on innovation diffusionDiffusion of innovationsDiffusion of Innovations is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread through cultures. Everett Rogers, a professor of rural sociology, popularized the theory in his 1962 book Diffusion of Innovations...
(studying the geographical spread of new technologies) made him realise that the two, though separate, were not independent of each other; they have what LefebvreHenri LefebvreHenri Lefebvre was a French sociologist, Marxist intellectual, and philosopher, best known for his work on dialectics, Marxism, everyday life, cities, and space.-Biography:...
would call a dialectical relationship.
Hägerstrand's work was quantitative
Quantitative research
In the social sciences, quantitative research refers to the systematic empirical investigation of social phenomena via statistical, mathematical or computational techniques. The objective of quantitative research is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories and/or hypotheses pertaining to...
, which is important as the discipline of geography was, when he published his first paper in 1942, a highly descriptive subject. He developed models and statistical techniques, such as the time-space prism. His work informed the likes of Allan Pred
Allan Pred
Allan Richard Pred was an internationally-known American geographer and professor at the University of California at Berkeley He wrote over 20 books and monographs, translated into seven languages, and over 70 articles and book chapters....
and Nigel Thrift
Nigel Thrift
Nigel John Thrift is the current Vice Chancellor of the University of Warwick and a leading academic in the field of human geography.-Early life and career:...
, who took it to the English speaking world.
Hägerstrand's work was an early factor in both the qualitative turn and the introduction of humanistic thought into geography. As the latter of these critiqued the former highly, to eventually form critical geography
Critical geography
Critical geography takes a critical theory approach to the study and analysis of geography. The development of critical geography can be seen as one of the four major turning points in the history of geography...
. Hägerstrand's later work revised his early time-geographies to include notions of embodiment and emotion. Still, his methods were critiqued by feminist geographers
Feminist geography
Feminist geography is an approach in human geography which applies the theories, methods and critiques of feminism to the study of the human environment, society and geographical space.-Areas of study:...
such as Gillian Rose
Gillian Rose
Gillian Rose was a British scholar who worked in the fields of philosophy and sociology. Notable facets of this social philosopher's work include criticism of neo-Kantianism and post-modernism, along with what has been described as "a forceful defense of Hegel's speculative thought."-Life and...
, who claimed that his models showed a masculine
Masculinity
Masculinity is possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a man. The term can be used to describe any human, animal or object that has the quality of being masculine...
and falsely-ordered view of the world.
Even so, development of Hägerstrand's work has continued to form part of the basis for non-representational theory
Non-representational theory
Non-representational theory is a theory developed in human geography, largely through the work of Nigel Thrift , and his colleagues such as J.D. Dewsbury . It challenges those using social theory and conducting geographical research to go beyond representation...
, and a reappraisal of time geography from the likes of Alan Latham means that he remains an influential thinker today.
Sweden, and particularly Lund
Lund
-Main sights:During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund...
, has become a major center of innovative work in cultural geography
Cultural geography
Cultural geography is a sub-field within human geography. Cultural geography is the study of cultural products and norms and their variations across and relations to spaces and places...
. This is partially helped by Hägerstrand's work, which was almost entirely concentrated on the town and its surrounding region.
Honors
In 1992 Torsten Hägerstrand was awarded Lauréat Prix International de Géographie Vautrin LudLauréat Prix International de Géographie Vautrin Lud
The Lauréat Prix International de Géographie Vautrin Lud established in 1991, it is the highest award that can be gained in the field of geography. The award is modelled on the Nobel Prize it is considered and colloquially called the Nobel prize for geography...
, the highest award in the geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
research field.
He received honorary doctorates from University of Bergen
University of Bergen
The University of Bergen is located in Bergen, Norway. Although founded as late as 1946, academic activity had taken place at Bergen Museum as far back as 1825. The university today serves more than 14,500 students...
, Norwegian school of economics and business administration, University of Trondheim, University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
, University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
and Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. The commendation accompanying the honorary degree at Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
noted that" his work on innovation diffusion, carried out in the 1950s and 1960s continues to be cited as a standard against which current research is measured' and that "this distinguished individual...inspired a generation of scholars around the world."
He was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
, the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences or Kungl. Ingenjörsvetenskapsakademien , founded in 1919 by King Gustaf V, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden...
, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway.-History:The University of Oslo was established in 1811. The idea of a learned society in Christiania surfaced for the first time in 1841. The city of Throndhjem had no university, but had a learned...
, the Finnish Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
, and a member of Société de Géographie
Société de Géographie
The Société de Géographie , is the world's oldest geographical society. It was founded in 1821 . Since 1878, its headquarters has been at 184 Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris. The entrance is marked by two gigantic caryatids representing Land and Sea...
in France. He was also one of the founding members of Academia Europaea
Academia Europaea
Academia Europæa is a European non-governmental scientific academy founded in 1988. Its members are scientists and scholars who collectively aim to promote learning, education and research. It publishes European Review through Cambridge Journals....
.
In 1968 Professor Hägerstrand received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Association of American Geographers
Association of American Geographers
The Association of American Geographers is a non-profit scientific and educational society founded in 1904 and aimed at advancing the understanding, study, and importance of geography and related fields...
. In 1979 he received the Victoria Medal
Victoria Medal (geography)
The Victoria Medal is an award presented by the Royal Geographical Society. It is awarded "for conspicuous merit in research in geography" and has been given since 1902.-Past recipients:...
from the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
.
External links
- "Torsten Hägerstrand" Encyclopædia Britannica